Journal: Week Two

1.) One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the major idea of the section.

This week we learned about the different aspects of popular moral systems of today. These systems are Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, and Judaism. We also learned about three other moral systems and those were Moral Relativism, Anarchism, and Nihilism. For each moral system we learned about the founders of that system, its main teachings and its views on moral issues of today. Another aspect we talked about for each moral system is how its major teachings can compare to Christianity and our own Catholic morality.

2.) List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.

1.) First, I want to remember the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. They are :1.) All of life is suffering 2.) The cause to suffering is attachment that is rooted in desire. 3.) The end of suffering is nirvana 4.) The path that leads out of suffering is known as the Eightfold Path.; I want to remember these truths, because they speak so real to me. They have helped me to realize that material goods and desiring things that I really don't need lead to my suffering. I see can see why Jesus was so positive about life, because he never desired anything and was able to see the best in people. I think that these Four Noble Truths draw a parallel to Christianity, because nirvana is the Christian equivalent to Heaven, and the eightfold path is just living out our Christian values and morals.

2.) Another thing I want to remember is the Islamic morality, because the Islamic moral system seems to be very similar to the Chrisitan moral system. We both believe in one God, who is the God of Abraham, and we have morals that call us to be good human beings. Muslims are called to live a true and sincere life of faith, show acts of charity towards their fellow man, to be good citizens, and a Muslims' soul must be firm and unshaken. Islam rejects homosexuality and euthanasia, which is a lot like Christianity and all other moral systems. It is misinterpreted sometimes that Islam is very different from most moral systems, but it is very similar to most moral systems of today.

3.)A third thing that I want to remember from this week is the five key relationships in Confucianism which are:1.)Kindness in the father and obedient devotion in the son 2.)Gentility in the eldest brother and humility and respect in the younger 3.)Righteous behavior in the husband and obedience in the wife 4.)Humane consideration in elders and deference in juniors 5.)Benevolence in rulers and loyalty of ministers and subjects; I want to remember these key relationships, because I think that they are very true and real in my life and could improve my relationships with people around me. These are guidelines for how I can approach people like my parents, my siblings and my friends.

4.)Image that reminds you of key idea.

4.) One good question you should keep with you to ponder.

Am I following by the aspects and the key teachings of my moral system? Will I be more open and more accepting to other moral systems after this study?

5.) What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study?

To make myself a better person I think that I need to realize that a moral system in my life is very important, because it keeps my on a path and gives me direction in life.